Road guard



E. v. CAMP Jan. 19, 1937.

ROAD GUARD Filed Jan. 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR E ENE TZ CkMP ATTORNEYS atenteei Jan. 19, l37

" UitlllFE Sit ATENT FFEQ amass? norm GUARD .iEugene V. Camp, Atlanta, Ga. Application January M, was, Serial No. 651,798 28 Claims. oi. ass-ran The invention relates to' certain improvements in road guards of the type involving one or more continuous impact members supported under tension by spaced posts and has for its object to provide a novel connection between the impact member and each post that will enable the proper degree of tension to be applied to and maintained in said impact member, said connection including a support, preferably a bowed leaf spring, secured to the post and a clamp engaging the impact member and the support. In the preferred form of the invention, the spring'is provided with a ,reentrant bend in its face into which the impact member may be drawn by the clamp, whereby said impact member will be stretched between successive posts of the series.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a post or support of a road guard of the duplex resilient strip type, the impact members or resilient strips and one of the connectors being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.-

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4; is a plan view showing a different form of post.

Fig. 5 is a plan view illustrating a different form of Spring support.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of the modification shown in Fig. 5. v

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a further modi fication of the strip support and the clamp associated therewith.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation of the cation shown in Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a plan View of another modification of the spring support associated with the same type of clamp as indicated in Figs. [and 8.

In the construction and application of road or highway guards involving resilient impact mem bers supported at intervals by posts, so that vehicular trafiic striking the impact member or members will be deflected by the smooth surface of the latter back onto the road surface, it has been found economical and-advantageous to apply the impact members in continuous lengths extending from end to end of thecomplete guard, the individual impact members consisting of a single strip or band of resilient material or a 50 number of separate strips or bands suitably connected end to endto form a continuous length.

When the guards are of considerable length, as,

modififor example, when they are employed on longcurves or long hills, considerable'difliculty is en- 55 countered in maintaining the impact members under sufiicient tensile stress to enable the same to carry out their normal and expected function in directing vehicular trafiic impinging on the impact members, due to skidding or being forced oil the road, back onto the road. Also when the im- 5 pact member or members of the guard is in the form of one or more strips or bands of sheet metal, stretched along the supporting posts and maintained under tension, it is dimcult to maintain an equal degree of tension on the upper and lower 10 edges of the strip, when the road guard passes over the crest of a rise or dips into a hollow in theroad. It is a primary purpose of this invention to providea road guard in which the resilient impact member or members are continuous and 5 may be maintained under uniform tension throughout the whole length of the guard, and, when the impact members are in the form of strips or hands of sheet metal and the like, uniform tension may be applied to the upper and lower edges 20 of the strips or bands whenever any sudden change inthe inclination of the road tends to produce a certain degree of slackness in the upper or the lower edge of the impact member.

While several different structural forms of the road guard have been illustrated in 'the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that each of them involves the same general operative principles and includes mechanical equivalent ele ments to effect the same specific results. 0

Referring to Figs. 1,, 2 and 3 of the drawings, l 3 indicates a post or support, preferably made of sheet metal-and of generally triangular cross section, with one angular edge or face disposed normally or at right angles to the road or highway. A series of these posts are set up at proper intervals along the road or highway to be guarded and serve to support the impact members of the guard, whichimpact members serve to prevent vehicles accidentally leaving the road and, when 40 the impact of the vehicle is at an angle to the surface of the impact member, the inherent resilience of the latter will deflect the vehicle back ontov its normal course on the road. To effect this purpose without material injury to the guard or to the vehicle, it is necessary that the impact member or members possess inherent resilience and be maintained under tension throughout the length thereof.

As illustrated in the drawings, the portions of the road guard designed to receive the impact of vehicles tending to leave the road, are two parallel strips or hands Hi, It, which are preferably applied in continuous lengths from end to end of the guard and which are to be main- 2 tained under substantially uniform tension throughout their lengths. To effect this result in a highly eflicient and economical manner, a

. and by means of which thedesired degree of tension may be applied to the impact members. and any degree of slackness in the impact members may be readily removed. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the support is in the form of a two ply leaf bowed spring, the ends of which are provided with perforations to receive screws 4, 4 by means of which the support is secured to the lateral faces of the post I. The body portion of the bowed spring is generally annular or laterally curved from the end or leg portions 3, 3 and the outer face of the spring support is provided with a reentrant bend 5 affording laterally spaced portions cooperable with the impact member.

Instead of forming the support 2 of spring metal, the same may be made rigid, either in the form of a casting or a drop forging having the same general contour as the support 2. However, it is preferred that the support 2 be made of spring metal, so that said support will inaterially assist in taking up shocks and will materially relieve the stresses imposed on the impact members ID by yielding laterally, or in a direction at right angles to the roadway. Furthermore, by making the supports 2 in the form of springs, a heavy impact delivered against any section of the road guard will be transmitted throughout the whole length of the guard and gradually dissipated, whereas, if the connectors 2 were rigid and inflexible, the force of impact of a vehicle striking a given section of the guard would be confined to that particular section which includes the impact members and two adjacent posts.

The purpose of the reentrant bend 5 in the front face of the support 2 is to provide a space into which the band l may be deflected and, to effect this deflection, there is associated with the support 2 an adjustable clamp adapted to draw the bandl0 into the reentrant bend 5, to any desired degree. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this clamp takes the form of a U-bolt 6 provided with nuts I on its threaded legs and a perforated strap 8 adapted to be engaged by the nuts. As clearly indicated in the drawings, the U-bolt straddles the band In and the spring support 2 at the intermediate portion of the reentrant bend therein. From the. ffi'egoing description, it will be apparent that, when the continuous strips or bands ID are secured to the supports 2 on the successive posts by the U-bolt 'olamps, any desired degree of tension may be applied to the strips by setting up the nuts I on the U-bolts and the strips will not only be stretched between th successive posts but will be locked firmly in position, so that, when the impact members are struck by a vehicle tending to leave the road, they will resist the movement of the vehicle and, by reason of their inherent resiliency and the tension under which they are maintained, will tend to force the vehicle back onto the roadway, and,

if the impact of the vehicle is oblique to the direction of the roadway, the vehicle would be automatically deflected back into its normal direction of travel.

It will be apparent that any sudden change in the inclination of the roadway, as, for example,

- indicated in the drawings.

stroyed and the effectiveness of the guard decreased to a certain, extent. This difficulty is overcome, however, by setting up one of the nuts I on the U-bolt 6 to a greater extent than the adjustment of the other nut on the same U-bolt, thereby causing the U-bolt to draw either the top or bottom edge of the strip I0 farther into the reentrant face of the support 2. For example, if the road guard passes over a sudden rise or the crest of a hill, the upper edges of the strips I0, [0 would be under tension, while the lower edges of the strips would be relatively slack. This slackness may be taken up and uniform tension applied to the strips by setting up the lower nuts 1 on each of the U-bolts. Similarly, if there is a sudden dip in the road, the lower edges of the strips l 0, I0 would be under proper tension, but the upper edges of the strips would be slack and this slack may be taken up and that the legs may be securely locked to the posts by means of a through bolt 4.

In the'modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the support or connector between the impact member and the post is in the form of a generally annular or elliptical leaf bowed spring 2, the ends of which adjacent the post are overlapped and perforated to receive 'a bolt 4, which passes through a hole in the post. The outer face of the bowed spring 2 is provided with the same type of reentrant bend 5' as in the preceding -m0dification. The clamp employed in this type is identical with that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and operates in exactly the same manner. If desired, one corner of each end of the spring 2 may be bent at right angles to form a triangular tooth-like element l2, which may be driven into the face of the post to assist in holding the spring support 2' in proper alignment.

In the modification shown in Figs. '7 and 8, the supporting member is in the form of a relatively heavy spring 2, which may be formed of a strip of spring steel of materially greater width than the spring as illustrated in the preceding modifications and is designed to support a relatively with a reentrant bend 5 which is provided at its deepest portion with spaced perforations to receive bolts II. The flexible strip or impact member I0 is provided with corresponding holes adapted to-register with those in the reentrant bend of the spring and to receive the bolts H, which are mounted in a strap or batten 16 substantially semi-cylindrical in contour and is adapted to overlie the outer face of the impact member ID in the manner and form as clearly Each of the bolts H is provided with a nut l8. The particular coordination of the strap I6, bolts I1 and nuts I8 constitute a clampwhich is the full equivalent of the U-bolt and strap clamp employed in connection with the other forms of the invention, the only difference being that, in this case, the bolt members pass through the impact strip i and the spring member 2 instead of embracing these elements, as is the case with the U-bolt clamp. In this modification, the necessary tension on the impact member I0 is applied by setting up the nuts l8. When the road guard is constructed on a level stretch of road, the nuts l8 are set up to the same extent, so that the portion 'of the strip i0 adjacent the strap IE will be pulled evenly and uniformly into the reentrant bend in the face of the spring 2 and equal tension will be applied to the strip throughout. When the road guard passes over a sharp acclivity or through a declivity, equal tensions may be applied to the upper and lower edges of the strip Ill'by setting up the clamps differentially, as heretofore explained, that is to say, if the lower edge of the strip III is slack, it may be properly tensioned by setting up the nut on the lowermost bolt II to the necessary degree and then setting up the nut on the intermediate bolt to a lesser degree until the strip or band i0 is tensioneduniformly. Should the slack 000111 in the upper edge of the strip or band, the operation is reversed, that is to say, the nut on the upper bolt is set up to draw the upper portion of the band deeper into the reentrant facr of the spring, the bolt on the middle nut drawn up to a lesser degree but to a sufficient extent to render the band uniformly taut.

The modification shown in Fig. 9 applies only to the particular form of the spring support,

which, as shown, is in the form of a closed bowed leaf spring associated with a supporting post that is triangular in cross section. In this'case, the bowed spring 2 has a general configuration of a figure 8; the inner and outer faces being provided with reentrant angles and 5 the former hugging the lateral face of the post to which the spring is secured by a bolt i Thereentrant bend in the front face of the spring serves the same purpose as that in each of the preceding modifications and the type of clamp employed is identical with that shown in Figs. '7 and 8.

While the invention has been particularly described as involving a sheet metal strip as the impact member, it will be understood that it applies also to fabricated metallic bands or strips generally that are capable 'of being supported at one side of a series of posts.

What I claim is:

l. A road guard, comprising a series of spaced posts, a strip of sheet metal extending along the series of posts, and means for securing the strip to each post including a support secured'to the post having a reentrant portion in the front face thereof, and an adjustable clamp engaging the strip and the support and adapted to draw the strip into the reentrant portion.

2. A road guard as described in claim 1, in which the support is a leaf spring bowed outwardly from its supporting post. I

3. A road guard as described in claim 1, in

which the clamp includes a U-bolt, a strap enopenings in the strap, the strip and the support and nuts on said bolts.

5. A road guard as described in claim 1, in which the support is a bowed spring having its legs secured to the lateral faces of the posts and the reentrant portion of the support is disposed transversely of its arcuate face.

6. A road guard as described in claim 1, in which the support is an annular spring bolted to the front face of the post and the reentrant portion of the support extends transversely of the strip of sheet metal. 7

7. A road guard, comprising a series of spaced posts, a strip of metal extending along the series of posts, and means operatively interposed between at least one of the posts and the strip for adjusting the tension of one edge of the strip with respect to the other edge thereof, said means including a member having a reentrant face and an adjustable device cooperable with the strip adjacent said face.

8. In combination with a road guard including a series of spaced posts and a continuous strip of metal extending along one side of the series, of connectors for securing the strip to each post including means for taking up slack in either edge of said strip to substantially equalize the tension on both edges of the strip.

9. In combination with a road guard including a series of spaced posts and a continuous strip of metal extending along one side of the series, of

resilient connectors for securing the strip to each post including means for taking up slack in either edge of said strip to substantially equalize the tension on both edges of the strip.

10. In combination with a road guard'including a'series of spaced posts and a continuous strip of sheet metal extending along one side of the series, of resilient connectors for securing the strip to the posts each connector comprising a. bowed leaf spring having its free ends secured to the lateral faces of a post and its face attached to said strip.

11. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a strip of metal extending along and supported by said posts, a member having a reentrant portion, and means connecting the strip to said member to permit one edge of the strip to be tensioned with respect to the other edge thereof.

12. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a strip of metal extending along and supported by said posts, a member disposed on one side of said strip, and means cooperable with the opposite sides of the strip connecting the strip to said member to permit one edge of the strip to be tensioned with respect to the other edge thereof.

13. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a, flexible impact member carried by said posts, a member interposed between the impact member and at least one of said posts and having a reentrant front face, and means for drawing the impact member into said reentrant face.

14. A. road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a fiexible impact member carried by said posts, a spring device having a reentrant front face interposed between said impact member and at least one of said posts, and means overlying the face of the impact member opposite said disposed with respect to the impact member, said spring being attached intermediate its ends to the impact member and having portions bowed in opposite directions on opposite sides of the point of attachment of the spring to the impact member.

17; A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impact member extending along said posts in spaced relation thereto, and means for connecting the impact member to each post including a bowed leaf spring of substantially U-shape, each leg of the U being provided with a .reverse bend and having its free end secured to the post..

18. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impact member extending along said posts, means for connecting the impact member to each post including a bowed leaf spring having a reentrant bend in its rear face, each I post having a portion extending into said reentrant bend of the associated spring for attachment thereto and said bend forming laterally spaced faces cooperable with the post.

' 19: A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impact member extending along said posts, means for connecting the impact member to each post including a resilient support in the form of a closed loop, said loop having a reentrant bend in its rear face for receiving a portion of the associated post, said bend providing the support with laterally spaced faces respectively cooperable with said portion of the post.

20. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a support secured to each post and having a reentrant front face, each support having an impact member of sheet metal overlapping itsreentrant front face, and means for maintaining the impact member in engagement with portions of the support adjacent opposite sides of said reentrant front face. 11

21. A device for connecting a sheetmetal impact member of a road guard to a support, comprising a bowed leaf spring adapted to be secured to the support and having a reentrant front face adapted to extend transversely of the direction of length of the impact member, and means adapted to draw the impact member into said ree trant front face.

22. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible sheet metal impact member carried by said posts, a spring device attached to one of said posts and having-a reentrant front face interposed between said impact member and said posts, and means for securing a portion of the impact member in crimped relation with the reentrant front face of the spring device.

23. A road guard as described in claim 20, in which the reentrant front face of each support is in spaced relation with the post to which the support is attached. I

24. A device as described in claim 21, in which the reentrant front face of the bowed leaf spring is adapted to be disposed in spaced relation to the support.

25. A road guard device as described in claim 22, in which the reentrant front face of the spring device is in spaced relation to the post to which said device is attached.

26. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impact member extending along said posts, resilient connectors secured to the posts for connecting the impact member thereto,

each of said connecters having laterally spaced portions offset from the-associated post for cooperating with the impact member and the latter being deflected inwardly toward the posts between the laterally spaced portions of each of said connectors, and means cooperating with the inwardly deflected portions of the iinpact member for securing the impact member to the connectors independently of said posts.

27. A road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impact member extending along said posts, and means for connecting the impact member in spaced relation to each post including a resilient support of loop form, said loop having laterally spaced portions disposed in spaced relation to the associated post for cooperating with the impact member and the latter having a deflected portion extending inwardly toward said post between the laterally spaced portions of the loop.

28. A- road guard comprising a series of spaced posts, a flexible impactmember extending along said posts, resilient connectors secured to the posts for connecting the impact member thereto, and means connecting the impact member to said connectors independently of said posts, each of said connectors having oppositely bowed portions extending on opposite sides of the means connecting it to the impact member and being provided with laterally spaced portions offset from the associated post for cooperating with the impact member, said impact member being deflected inwardly toward said posts between the laterally spaced portions of each of said connectors.

- EUGENE V. CAMP. 

